Large media outlets like The New York Times were instrumental in convincing the ... | Hacker News

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keiferski on Dec 5, 2020 | parent | context | favorite | on: Maybe we shouldn't want a fully decentralized web

Large media outlets like The New York Times were instrumental in convincing the public that Saddam had WMDs and thus justifying the Iraq War. That conflict led to something like a million deaths (and counting), which is 1000x more than all the "Internet forum"- related terrorism put together.

Yet I don't see anyone calling for further control of The New York Times or implementing restrictions on the corporate media.

bosswipe on Dec 5, 2020 [–]

The New York Times didn't come up with the idea of the Iraq War. The Iraq War was the official policy of the United States government.

keiferski on Dec 5, 2020 | [–]

They facilitated the war (through making it publicly acceptable) and made it easier to enact, just as social media supposedly facilitates terrorism.

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